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Friday, April 12, 2013

Gypsy Chalkboard

Remember when I told y’all about going yard sale-ing and bartering with the gypsies?! Well I came home with several projects to tackle and I want to share one of them with you today.

I purchased this “lovely” painting that was priced for $25 and I bartered them down to $18. I really didn’t care for the painting at all, but was definitely interested in the frame. It was a sturdy wooden frame with great potential for a chalkboard in my new kitchen.

Not only is it a pretty ugly painting but it was also torn. Who would pay $25 for an ugly torn painting?!?!

I ripped out the painting (the Mr. couldn’t believe that I did this without batting an eye), and then primed the frame. Once the primer was dry, I topped it with two coats of white paint. Both the primer and paint were of the spray paint variety. I wanted the distressed and antiqued look, so I randomly sanded the edges of the frame.
For the chalkboard, I took a trip to Lowe’s and purchased some thin birchwood and had it cut to the size of the frame. When I brought it home I primed it and painted it with 3 coats of chalkboard paint and let it dry in the sun. I had to keep dusting the pollen off so that it wouldn’t dry yellow lol
I tried nailing the birchwood into the frame but ended up messing up the frame a little bit (oopsies! It’s a good thing I was going for the distressed look lol). So I switched gears and decided to adhere the chalkboard to the frame with wood glue. Worked like a charm! I scribbled chalk all over the board and then washed it off with water and a sponge to prep the chalkboard paint.
The chalkboard now hangs in our kitchen and is used for writing sweet messages to each other, the weekly menu, grocery lists, holiday messages, etc. We are having so much fun putting this $18 project to good use!
I think I’m in love with chalkboard paint these days! I’m finding excuses everyday to use chalkboard paint for some project haha. What chalkboard ideas do you have for me for my next project?

I'm glad your chalkboard paint experience was better than mine! I think I used Krylon brand spray paint - and it was bad. The chalk wouldnt erase - it was a mess. I love the board in the kitchen! Looks awesome! And really - they wanted $25....what were they smoking?